Essay on Earl Warren: Changing America through Judicial Power

Earl Warren was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969. Warren is best known for his majority decision in the controversial case Brown v. Board of Education. In this essay, you will learn about Warren life before the Supreme Court,how Korematsu helped shaped the rest of Earl Warren’s career, and his most important cases.

Earl Warren was a great man in the history of the United States. Without his many great contributions, things such our education system and many judicial processes would not be in place. A native Californian, he impacted his home state with many public programs and by modernising the existing system. As a supreme court justice, his decisions and leadership influenced this nation. While Earl Warren may not be perfect, he worked throughout his career to serve his country and make a better future for its citizens.

One of Nixon's campaign pledges was to appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court to counter the perceived liberalism of the Warren Court. Supporters of this pledge claimed that the Warren Court's permissive rulings were eroding the moral base of the country and that their coddling of criminals had led to high crime rates and serious civil disturbances. Another complaint against the Warren Court was that it engaged in "judicial activism," meaning the intent of the court's decisions went beyond settling disputes between particular parties and into the arena of law-making. Racial desegregation and the reapportionment of voting districts are examples of areas in which the court's mandates affected not just the parties engaged in the suit, but literally every American.

Earl Warren held the position of Chief Justice between 1953 and 1969. He led a liberal majority, who utilized the judicial authority to

Earl Warren was born in 1891 in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Bakersfield, California. During his youth, “He worked summers for Southern Pacific Railroad. He later said that his progressive political and legal attitudes were the result of seeing first-hand the lives and struggles of working people” (California Museum). Warren earned his political science and law degrees from University of California, Berkley in 1914. In 1919 he became a deputy city attorney for Oakland, California, then proceeded to serve as Alameda County deputy assistant district attorney until 1925, when he then rose to District Attorney. “He was elected California Attorney General in 1938” (California Museum). “During his 14 years as district attorney, he

The Warren Court refers to the Supreme Court of the United States between 1953 and 1969, when Earl Warren served as Chief Justice. Warren led a liberal majority that used judicial power in dramatic fashion, to the consternation of conservative opponents. The Warren Court expanded civil rights, civil liberties, judicial power, and the federal power in dramatic ways. One way the Warren Court liberalized America, is through the court cases of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), Escobedo v. Illinois (1964), and Miranda v. Arizona (1966), where these court cases helped define Due Process and the rights of defendants. Another way the Warren Court liberalized America, is through the cases of Tinker v. Des Moines ISD (1969), Engle v. Vitale (1962), and

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954),[1] was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896

Board of Education of Topeka case was another important case for the Civil Rights movement. This Supreme Court case called for the desegregation of public schools. The suit was filed by thirteen parents from Topeka on behalf of their children, and their right to equal educational opportunities. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown, distinguishing a huge victory for equal rights. They stated, “We [the Supreme Court] come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other “tangible” [real] factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational properties? We believe that it does…” (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka). This case overturned the earlier case of Plessy v. Ferguson, ruled in 1896. The act of rejecting this “separate but equal” ideal that the Supreme Court had previously supported was an important step for the Civil Rights movement and for their goal of

The Warren Court decided a number of important constitutional issues during its time and those decisions continue to influence our daily lives (Urofsky 253). Warren was appointed Chief Justice in 1953 by President Eisenhower (Earl Warren Biography). During his 16-year tenure, he was one of the most influential advocates for social progress in the United States. During his term he dealt with controversial cases on civil rights and civil liberties and the very nature of the political system. According to Lucas Powe in The Warren Court and American Politics, the Warren Court created the image of the Supreme Court as a revolutionary body, a powerful force for social change. Even though Warren clearly was not the most scholarly justice on the Court his leadership abilities and skill as a statesman enabled him to be an extremely effective Chief Justice. The decisions made in the Warren court cases affected America back in the day and still affect us till this day.

Earl Warren was born on March 19 1891 in Los Angeles CA to immigrant parents. His father Matt Warren was a Norwegian immigrant, and his mother

Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was a case that also involved discrimination and inequality. It was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in May, 1954. This case focuses on the segregation of white and black children in public education. In this case Brown argues that segregation based on race, violates the Constitution because in public schools’ African American children were denied equal rights. White children were considered inferior to the black children. The Supreme Court decided that segregated public schools provided unequal schooling for students, and that school segregation was therefore unconstitutional. The “Separate but Equal” law continued to open wider gaps between blacks and whites. Blacks used separate water fountains, restrooms, hospitals, etc. All Public facilities were segregated. Restrictions were also placed on voting rights for blacks. They were granted the right to vote earlier in the 15th Amendment but it was limited by asking for literacy tests, and the redrawing of lines by southern state legislators. A racist ideology was still implanted in the minds of many; blacks were still inferior to the white color. Another attempt to freedom was the opening of the National Association for the advancement for colored people (NAACP). The goal of this organization was to end public segregation and regain the right to vote. The case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), also influenced the

The decision rendered by the United States Supreme Court on May 17, 1954, was one of the most defining moments in American history. A multiethnic movement for social change developed into a legal campaign aimed at altering the constitutional basis of government in the United States. This struggle was not only about children and their education, but also about issues of race and equal opportunity in America. The decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka initiated educational and social reform throughout the United States. However, without the dedication brought by Charles H. Houston, the case of equality or the Civil Rights Movement might not have advanced to where it is today.

One of the most important cases in history is the Marbury v. Madison case because this was the first U.S. Supreme court case to exercise the doctrine of judicial review. Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are accountable to review. The dispute was between William Marbury and James Madison whom was the secretary of state under 3rd president Thomas Jefferson, and the Chief Justice John Marshall whom was responsible for constructing and defending the judicial power and the foundation of the American federalism, led the Marbury v. Madison case. The case was about James Madison preventing William Marbury from taking his position in office as justice of the peace for the District of Columbia. Before Thomas Jefferson took office the former president before, John Adams, named forty-two justices and sixteen new circuit court justices in which he signed

In the 1960s and 70s, a number of commentators regarded Earl Warren as one of the greatest justices ever on the U.S. Supreme Court. Maybe, some contended, such as Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, that he was the best chief justice we ever had (Belknap, 2005). But, in March, 1966, Warren turned 75. Two years later, in June, 1968, he informed President Johnson, first in person and then by letter, that he

By the 19th century, many social forms of discrimination existed to keep Black Americans from being equal to White Americans. Laws like separate but equal where put into places to keep Black Americans from being in the same places as White Americans, like; neighborhoods, schools, churches, restaurants, and so on. White Americans also believed that Blacks should not have the right to vote; which led to many black movements for the continuous fight for equality in the nation of freedom. By 1954 the Brown vs. Board of Education case reversed the “separate but equal” doctrine that previously had been set in 1896, allowing children both White and Black children to attend the same schools and same classrooms. In